Kedassia: the Stamford Hill hechsher and its roots in a kashrut dispute

Walk along Stamford Hill in north London and you are in the heart of Britain’s Charedi community. It is also home to Kedassia, a hechsher with a strong position in the Charedi poultry market. This is the fifth article in our series on the people behind the symbols on your shopping, and the last of our British authorities before we cross the Channel.

Who is behind Kedassia?

Kedassia’s full name is The Joint Kashrus Committee of England. It is the kashrut arm of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, the UOHC, and its address is 140 Stamford Hill, London N16 6QT. The UOHC itself was founded in 1926 by Rabbi Dr Victor (Avigdor) Schonfeld “to protect traditional Judaism”.

Since its founding, the Union has been led by Victor Schonfeld, then Solomon Schonfeld, then Rabbi Chanoch Dov Padwa from 1965 to 2000, and Rabbi Ephraim Padwa from 2000 onwards.

Roots in a dispute over meat

In a 2023 article, Professor David Latchman traces Kedassia’s origins to members of the North London Machzike Hadath who would not accept the Chief Rabbinate’s authority over their meat. The question of who decides what counts as kosher meat, and who may license the people who slaughter it, runs through the whole story. Today, that independence is still part of Kedassia’s identity: it is the kashrut arm of the UOHC, not of the Chief Rabbinate.

It came to a head in 1930. A Slaughter of Animals Bill before Parliament would have given the Chief Rabbi sole power to license shochetim. The UOHC objected, and on 9 October 1930 the two sides agreed on a joint commission, chaired by the Chief Rabbi. In making their case, the founders cited a letter from the Kotzker Rebbe arguing that no single office should hold sole power to license slaughter.

A strict standard, tested in public

Kedassia’s strictness was put on show in 2013. Shortly before Pesach, 80% of the chickens under its supervision were found unfit because of torn sinews. The difficulty was not a lack of birds, but a lack of birds that passed inspection. Kedassia issued apologies to consumers. For shoppers it was an inconvenience, but it also showed that the checks are real, and that birds which do not pass are turned away.

What the Kedassia standard means

• Charedi standard: Kedassia supervises to a strict Charedi standard.
• Poultry: it holds a strong position in the Charedi poultry market.
• Yoshon: it was among the UK authorities that began promoting yoshon, the rule on “old” grain.

How to check a product

Kedassia is less visible online than the other authorities in this series. We could not find an official website, a published product guide or an app. That makes the certificate itself all the more important:

• Ask to see the certificate in a shop, bakery or butcher that says it is under Kedassia.
• Ask the seller directly if you are buying online and the supervision is not stated.
• Contact the UOHC at 140 Stamford Hill if you need to confirm that a product is covered. The UOHC is a registered charity, number 249892.

Three things you might not know

1. Kedassia’s founders drew on a letter from the Kotzker Rebbe to argue that no single office should control the licensing of slaughter.
2. In 2013, eight in ten supervised birds were rejected just before Pesach, which shows how strict the checks are.
3. The UOHC, of which Kedassia is the kashrut arm, was led by Rabbi Chanoch Dov Padwa for 35 years, from 1965 to 2000.

On The Kosher Shop, every food seller tells us which kashrut authority supervises their products, and we check the certificate before their shop opens. Next in this series: the Beth Din de Paris.

Sources: vaad.org: Kedassia; JCR-UK: Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations; Wikipedia: Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations; David Latchman, The Times of Israel blogs, 2023; The Jewish Chronicle, 18 March 2013; The Jewish Chronicle, 2008.